Demulsifier composition



l atented e). 6, 1 95 1 5,540,455 DE-MUIJSIFIER COMPOSITION FiEifi i iicii figi'isi n, 12551.,jiibiJQmifiQg noxClorporation, Houston, Tex., a, corporation N Drawing.

2. 1 e rareiiee h e =v sle 1 1 enwl ipes ulsifying 3 mposition i ie ete finotherobje't the p ca/ i; pf aniirn proved diiiiilsiiier whi'cfi'is iiigi'iiyireciiv'for breaking or separating petroleum emulsions. i t

" Generally stated; rie w dihuls'ifir in ac:

troleum emulsions by irui sinviii ic ia p saph s; 1 ziiiifture composed of petroleum s iiicfiatef soaps; a caster iiii-iiida fiee' alkyd resin, and a com: pound comprisiriai polyoic'yalkylne" derivative" of a? hexah'ydri'c' bed which een partiany esterifiedwith 1c ty acid;

The petroleum sulfonate soaps? employed inth e' 'dmulsifief b' eitiiei the in-Somme ma seapser" mixtures f' both: Both thes'e'types re a'i'ice with this" invention; the" oilsolubie:v ma

hoganysoaps'employed are" prefefaljlyjtljiesodi: u'rjfisoaps ranging in molecular wei'g'htfromabout' D 500-and-preferably those of'about 425"mole'c1I-'= lafr weight: Thewater-soluble greenacid soaps employed are preferably t he' ammonium soaps ranging in molecular weightf'ronr about 250450 and preferably OS a duc 300 '0"'mOlecular' weight? Bothtypesof soaps "are" readily miscible with the other components of the' emulsifying composition contemplated by this invention? The alkyd resins employed in the compositions in-accordance with 'this invention consists of those which have been modified with castor oil. The alkyd resin may be any one of the numerous and. well-known 'poiybasic" acid-polyhydric alcohojl condensation products: Theseinclude'condensation products in which the'acii'iic compo nent may comprise such acids and anhydrides as phthalic, maleic, 'succifiic," fumaric, etc., and in which the polyhyclric alcohol constituents include such materials as-glycerol; andfihe various glycols. Ineverycase,--howeve f,; the compositions ixi accordance-with "this invention employ only the castor i1 -mOdified-compound; Suchcastor oil modified alkydwesins are widely available commercially and are sold under numerous trade names. Glyptal 18 0x2555 and 25 56, for exaiii'pie, filal il lfa ea by? the" General" Electric Company, are typical'cofhfrii'cial products of the desirable type. These commercial products are Application October 2,1948; Serial NO. 52,589 sclaiins'. (cl. 5252:3133" I detail in1 H0we11 Patent No. 1,098,728, June 2, 1914.

Th im'm prim ry: orthe newicbrinfpositiommay be characterized as a polyoXya1- i1; ylene deriv t veot. ahexahy ric. body whichihl i been partially esterified with a long-chain fatty aci More specifically these materials are derived fron the various hexahydric alcohols, such as mannitol, ,sorbitol, and dulcitol,..and their .anhydrides, which include theisorbitans,.sorbides, mannitans and mannides. .,These hexahydricale cohols or .anhydrides are partially esterifiedwith l ng-chain Vfatty acids, such asroleic, palmitic, steariq, lauric, bahietickand ,naphthenic acids, .to p ovide partial ve t rschavin rseveral free hy o y :cups onet eupqly ixdr b dy T Ire-e hydrp ylsralte he urth r icdifiediby reaction witha k ehe... xid e.to pr ilqe afinal compound ayin 129 h Lee hydroxy andetherpxyeen sub.- td iuen s ch htcy derihecom oundcwith dc: ea iive hv xsznh icrcharacteristics.

ma u ac i mqmrou s s de c ib drie .t s ar/ed scr d-in c .i esi jf tlas .isna c. andrAtlas eis edc a 1%.? b i eei netqn. h lawagc. N Q Q Qrt a re-d ribedprin ipal l nc entsh ?i., ?l l 2. t. asuitable inn ng a en s all e s T ese agent ii lude such ma erials, aS 8th ol isqprgpyl alc q 19.. ai i a i 4s iy f s tlgel alk i g lat es a i i g c e hs ie eaiagz plm of wh ch he.

m'6ii6-di-, a'nd tri-ethanolamines and their equivalents.

3 mentioned above may be added tothin the composition to the final desired consistency.

The proportions of the several ingredients in the compositions of this invention maybe varied rather widely in accordance with the nature of the emulsions to be treated and the treating conditions. Exclusive of the thinner, typical compositions may contain from 30 to 75 percent by weight of petroleum sulfonate soaps, which may be all mahogany soap, all green acid soap, or any mixture thereof; from 15 to 60 percent castor oilmodified alkyd resin; and from 5 to 15 percent of one of the "'lween compounds. Generally from about to 40 percent of the selected thinner will be employed in the final composition- The following tabulation sets forth three specific examples of commercially employed demulsifying compounds-in accordance with this inven- In practicing the process, a treating agent or demulsifying agent of the kind above described may be brought into contact with the emulsion to be treated in any of the numerous ways now employed in the treatment of petroleum emulsions with chemical demulsifying agents, such, for example, a by introducing the treating agent into the well in which the emulsion is produced, introducing the treating agent into a conduit through which the emulsion is flowing, introducing the treating agent into a tank in which the emulsion is stored, or introducing the treating agent into a container that holds a sludge obtained from the bottoinof an oil storage tank. In some instances, it may be advisable to introduce the treating agent into a producing well in such a way that it will become mixed with water and oil that are emerging from the surrounding strata, before said water and oil enter the barrel of the Well pump or the tubing up through which said water and oil flow to the surface of the ground. After treatment the emulsion is allowed to stand in a quiescent state, usually in a settling tank, at a temperature varying from atmospheric temperature to about 200 F., so as to permit the water or brine to separate from the oil, it being preferable to keep the temperature low enough so as to prevent the valuable constituents of the oil from volatilizing. If desired, the treated emulsion may be acted upon by one or the other of various kinds of apparatus now used in the operation of breaking petroleum emulsions, such as homogenizers, hay tanks, gun barrels, filters, centrifuges, or electrical dehydrators.

The amount of treating agent on the anhydrous basis that is required to break the emulsion may vary from approximately 1 part of treating agent to 500 parts of emulsion, up to a ratio of 1 part of treatingagent to 20,000 parts of emulsion, depending upon the type or kind of emulsion being treated. In treating exceptionally refractory emulsions of the kind commonly referred to as tank bottoms or residual pit oils, the minimum ratio above referred to is often necessary, but in treating fresh emulsions, i. e., emulsions that will yield readily to the action of chemical demulsifying agents, the maximum ratio above mentioned will frequently produce highly satisfactory results. For the average petroleum emulsion of the water-'in-oil type a ratio of 1 part of treating agent to 10,000 parts of emulsion will usually be found to produce commercially satisfactory results.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A demulsifier composition for the treatment of petroleum emulsions, comprising, a mixture of (A) petroleum sulfonate soap of the class consisting of mahogany and green acid soaps, (B) a castor oil modified alkyd resin, and (C) a compound consisting of a polyoxyalkylene derivative of a hexahydric body partially esterified with a long-chain fatty acid, the Weight proportions in said mixture of A ranging from'about 30 to percent; of B from-about 15 to 60 percent; and of C from about 5 to 15 percent.

2. A demulsifier composition in accordance with claim 1 wherein the ingredient A consists of a mixture of oil-soluble mahogany soaps and water-soluble green acid soaps in relative proportions ranging from 22.5 to 43 parts of said mahogany soaps to 10 to 12 parts of said green acid soaps.

3. A demulsifier composition in accordance with claim 1 wherein the mixture includes a quantity of an inert thinner in the proportion of from 10 to 40 per cent by weight of the product.

4. A demulsifier composition for breaking water-in-oil emulsions consisting essentially of 30 to 75% of a petroleum sulfonate soap of the class consisting of the mahogany and green acid soaps; 15 to 60% of a castor oil modified alkyd resin of the phthalic anhydride-glycerol type; and 5 to 15% of a polyoxyalkylene derivative of a hexahydric body partially esterified with a long chain fatty acid.

5. A demulsifier composition for breaking water-in-oil emulsions consisting essentially of 30 to 75% of petroleum sulfonate soap of the class consisting of the oil-soluble mahogany and the water-soluble green acid soaps; 15 to 60% of a castor oil-modified alkyd resin of the phthalic anhydride-glycerol type; and 5 to 15% of a polyoxyalkylene derivative of sorbitan mono-oleate.

6. A demulsifier composition for breaking water-in-oil emulsions consisting essentially of oil-soluble mahogany soap 22.5 to 43%; water soluble green acid soap 10 to 12%; castor oilmodified phthalic anhydride-glycerol resin 32.5 to 10%; polyoxyalkylene derivative of sorbitan mono-oleate 5-15%; and hydrocarbon solvent 10-40%.

FRITZ EMIL FUCHS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of'record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name Date 1,872,286 Heckel Aug. 16, 1932 1,882,444 Peirce et al. Oct. 11; 1932 1,940,394 De Groote Dec. 19, 1933 1,978,227 Roberts Oct. 23, 1934 1,984,633 De Groote Dec. 18, 1934 OTHER REFERENCES spans and Tweens, publication by Atlas Powder Company, page 8 (1942). 

1. A DEMULSIFIER COMPOSITION FOR THE TREATMENT OF PETROLEUM EMULSIONS, COMPRISING, A MIXTURE OF (A) PETROLEUM SULFONATE SOAP OF THE CLASS CONSISTING OF MAHOGANY AND GREEN ACID SOAPS, (B) A CASTOR OIL MODIFIED ALKYD RESIN, AND (C) A COMPOUND CONSISTING OF A POLYOXYALKYLENE DERIVATIVE OF A HEXANHYDRIC BODY PARTIALLY ESTERIFIED WITH A LONG-CHAIN FATTY ACID, THE WEIGHT PROPORTIONS IN SAID MIXTURE OF A RANGING FROM ABOUT 30 TO 75 PERCENT; OF B FROM ABOUT 15 TO 60 PERCENT; AND OF C FROM ABOUT 5 TO 15 PERCENT. 